Ties that Bind
by chrysanne
Summary: ABANDONED! The estranged family of a professor comes to Hogwarts for protection, and Severus Snape crosses a mother and an aunt.
1. Family Ties

Family Ties  
  
Her boots made clicking noises along the hallway, her robes billowed out behind her, and her hawk-gold eyes missed nothing yet remained firmly fixed on the enchanted gargoyle in front of her.

"Canary cream!" she spat, her voice thick and stifled, her gloved hand clutching a piece of crumpled parchment.

Swallowing hard as the gargole leapt aside, she climbed onto the revolving staircase.

"Ah, a pleasure, Miria. To what do I owe this visit?" asked the man behind the desk, his eyes twinkling beneath his beard and hair. Walking to him, she slammed the parchment onto his desk, and hissed,

"You know damn well what's going on, you old fool. How dare you meddle in my affairs, and bring that woman's child here."

Her hawk eyes blazing with anger, she was barely able to suppress her fury as she shook with the force of her rage. To her growing frustration, that damnable wizard merely raised an eyebrow as she slumped, defeatedly, into a poofy armchair that had appeared.

"Is it I with whom you are angry, Miria, or is it something else?" he asked quietly, his twinkle gone.

The flying instructor buried her head in her hands and took a deep breath.

"She is not the child of only Lydia, my dear," he said gently, "She is Vladimir's daughter as well. I am sorry, Miria, for your heart, but do not let yourself be guided by your anger at your sister. You yourself have not seen your niece her entire life; regardless of her lineage, perhaps you should see her as more a friend than relative."

"She's bringing her sister's children as well, Albus. Her brother might visit here as well," she moaned into her hands, "If I haven't seen the daughter, I have seen the son: he is the mirror image of Dimri. I have no doubt she will be just like Lydia."

"If it would please you, Miria, it would be possible for me to send another to greet them. I can spare Severus for a few days."

"Thank you, Albus," she drew in a breath, "I will ask him myself."

She got up shakily from her chair, and walked toward the stairs.

* * *


	2. Asking Favors

Asking Favors  
  
Summer holidays, he mused to himself, were something to be savored and cherished. As he raised the measuring glass to his eye, however, he heard a slight clearing of throat behind him in the doorway.  
  
"Yes, Hooch; what is it?"  
  
Undeterred by his sarcastic manner, he was always annoyed when interrupted in the middle of potions making, she stepped into the room. She steeled herself, hoping he wasn't working on a particularly nasty potion which he could throw in her direction.  
  
"I have a favor to ask, Severus."  
  
He poured the contents of the cup into a simmering cauldron. She watched as he stirred the liquid, checking the time, and finally looked at her.  
  
"What is it, Hooch?" he repeated warily.  
  
"My family is coming from out of town, Severus. I would like to know whether or not you'd bring them here to Hogwarts."  
  
"They are your family, Hooch. What possible reason could you have for me to look after your relatives?"  
  
"Look Severus, I only wanted to ask you now, nicely, without questions, before the Headmaster stepped in."  
  
His eyes narrowed.  
  
"For goodness sake, you bat!" she said, exasperated, "Their relatives of my sister's. I hardly know them better than you do now."  
  
He studied her.  
  
"Very well, but as you are asking now, I will require some payment in return."  
  
"What do you want?" she asked, hesitantly.  
  
"Nothing too terrible," he said casually, "Merely access to the latest potions developments at Rubens Winikus and the Ministry; the _non-public_ developments."  
  
"I'll write to Derry and Pollux this afternoon," she replied instantly, then schooled her features, "Thank you Severus. They will arrive in one week at the harbor in Stanraer."  
  
He bowed to her, looking pointedly at the door. Just as she turned to go, he stopped her.

"How 'out of town' are these relatives, Hooch, if they must come by boat?"  
  
As she left the room, she said, "They're from out of country, Severus."

* * *

A.N.:

Stanraer is an actual city on the southern coast of Scotland, across from Belfast Ireland.


End file.
